As consumers continue to seek foods that are pure and simple, butter seems to be rising to the top.
In its race against margarine, butter is winning — and even outpacing olive oil of late — as consumers seek pure, simple, flavor-rich ingredients.
But butter seems to be gaining favor for people who still like to grease things up a bit. Grocery-unit sales of butter grew 2.19% in the year ending May 13, compared with a 0.21% uptick in olive oil and a 6.24% decline in margarine, spreads and butter blends, according to SymphonyIRI data, which excludes Walmart sales. Overall, butter led with $1.5 billion in sales during the period, followed by $1.4 billion for margarine/spreads and $706 million for olive oil.